A community project aiming to increase the amount of affordable work spaces in Brixton has gained the backing of Lambeth Council.

Lambeth Council has committed to ear-marking a minimum of 500 square metres of space and £200,000 to support the development of Brixton Works, a project which describes itself as “financially self-sustaining” and as looking to “support an inclusive local economy full of opportunities for enterprising local people”.

Jack Hopkins, cabinet member for business, writing on his personal blog, describes the initiative as, “a vehicle to manage commercial floorspace in the town centre, to deliver affordable and flexible space and support social and economic value drivers”.

Lambeth Council has also committed to launching a feasibility study to explore the financial possibilities of the project, working with local businesses Architecture 00, Camden Collective and Impact Hub Brixton CIC.

Hopkins describes the project as part of a longer-term vision for Brixton, in which “we can drive a different type of economy which is more long term and more social, where opportunity is extended and risk shared.”